Toronto, Canada-based production companies 9 Story Media Group and Peacock Alley Entertainment have joined forces to develop and co-produce Motel 51, a new 13 x half-hour serialized science-fiction drama, for viewers nine and up. The series will join 9 Story’s brand new live-action slate.

Written and created by Laura Kosterski (Big Top Academy, Annedroids), the series will be executive produced by Canadian sci-fi showrunner Brad Wright, creator of the Stargate TV franchise and Canadian-American Netflix series Travelers. (Scripted and unscripted content specialist Peacock Alley produced all three seasons of Travelers before its cancellation last month.)

Motel 51 will chart the desperate quest of the Williamson family to find their father after he mysteriously disappears. Their journey will lead to a strange motel with an otherworldly secret. Producers are pitching the show to potential broadcasters, and as a result have yet to determine a launch date.

Travelers executive producer and Peacock Alley president Carrie Mudd has also signed on to exec produce, as have 9 Story’s president and CEO Vince Commisso (Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood, Wild Kratts, The Magic School Bus Rides Again) and chief strategy officer Natalie Osborne (Angela’s Christmas, Almost Naked Animals, Harriet The Spy: Blog Wars). More EPs may be named at a later date.

Motel 51 will join 9 Story’s growing slate of new live-action projects, including hybrid series Blue’s Clues & You for Nickelodeon, interactive mixed-media adventure series and Scholastic adaptation TombQuest, and three untitled series to be developed in partnership with producer Tom Lynch (The Secret World of Alex Mack, Scout’s Safari, Make it Pop).

Widely known for award-winning animated series like Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood and Peg + Cat, 9 Story first dabbled in live action with 2010 TV film Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars and 2017 YouTube Original series Furze World Wonders. Its live-action division launched in January under the leadership of Emmy-nominated producer, writer and director Jeremy Slutskin (Blue’s Clues, Sesame Street, Chase Champion), who was appointed VP of live-action development and production. Development on Motel 51 began prior to Slutskin’s arrival.